caseyf's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Drug use, Gore, Murder, Pregnancy, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Pedophilia, Torture, Kidnapping, and Violence
sinisterbeard's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Compulsively unpleasant mash up of Blow Out, American Psycho and Halloween III. Goes off the rails towards the end, but fast and easy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Gaslighting, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Child abuse, Child death, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, Gun violence, Grief, Gore, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Death, Confinement, Body horror, Pedophilia, Blood, and Murder
ladyramkin's review
dark
informative
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This is a standard Chuck Palahniuk novel. What I mean to say is that it’s like he went down an ADHD hyperfixation rabbit hole on sound and foley artists and this is his version of a fictionalized TedTalk.
As always, his strongest gift is his commanding voice. You KNOW when you’re reading something by Palahniuk and honestly I think that’s why people enjoy his work. It’s the same shared energy as a Catholic mass in some regards. I found myself hypnotized by his writing even though I lost track of the plot in the middle of Part 2. Maybe that was my fault; I read too fast, I treated it like a sprint when I should have treated it like a marathon. However, the lack of chapters meant that I could never stop and breathe, I just kept going until exhausted I stopped.
Overall I feel like this was a combination of Lullaby and Diary. Plot elements of both books feature heavily here but it took on its own form of horror. It’s good, but I didn’t love it.
As always, his strongest gift is his commanding voice. You KNOW when you’re reading something by Palahniuk and honestly I think that’s why people enjoy his work. It’s the same shared energy as a Catholic mass in some regards. I found myself hypnotized by his writing even though I lost track of the plot in the middle of Part 2. Maybe that was my fault; I read too fast, I treated it like a sprint when I should have treated it like a marathon. However, the lack of chapters meant that I could never stop and breathe, I just kept going until exhausted I stopped.
Overall I feel like this was a combination of Lullaby and Diary. Plot elements of both books feature heavily here but it took on its own form of horror. It’s good, but I didn’t love it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Violence, and Drug abuse
kaylagetsread's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
*taps mic*
Just checking my levels...
Here's a fun Hollywood fact: Did you know that the sound effect for someone falling from a building and smashing their skull is created by gluing a double layer of soda crackers to a watermelon and whacking it with a baseball bat? Well, now you know.
First, we have Mitzi Ives, a highly sought after Foley artist known for creating authentic-sounding screams for Hollywood horror films. Her work is her life and business is BOOMING, as always.
Next is Gates Foster who lost his daughter 17 years ago and hasn't stopped searching since. I mean glued to a computer screen, hypervigilent at all times, dark web kinda searching. Rinse, scrub, repeat.
Both of their lives run parallel until they don't, and that moment will make you want to close the book, stare into nothingness for a while, and start all over again. Ok, maybe that's just what I did. I digress.
At its core is a story about how the suffering of ordinary people is a hot commodity, unbeknownst to the masses that only see and believe what Hollywood wants them to. Palahniuk gets into some Deep State and even supernatural stuff, and everything about it is brutal. I'd say that comes with the territory at this point, but just in case.
The book is split into 3 sections and there aren't any chapters, so the character transitions are pretty blurry. Given the disorientating nature of the book, I'd say that was a brilliant choice. The writing is suspenseful and even through my still lingering fog after reading it *twice*, I'm impressed! There are lots of layers and bits that won't seem obvious until you turn the last page, then it all crashes down on you. It's the books that leave me stunned and wondering what the heck I just read that are my most memorable and this one has definitely left its mark. Now excuse me while I fall down a rabbit hole of Foley effects, popular movie scream origins, and conspiracy theories.
Many thanks to Grand Central Publishing for providing me with a free copy! All views are my own.
Just checking my levels...
Here's a fun Hollywood fact: Did you know that the sound effect for someone falling from a building and smashing their skull is created by gluing a double layer of soda crackers to a watermelon and whacking it with a baseball bat? Well, now you know.
First, we have Mitzi Ives, a highly sought after Foley artist known for creating authentic-sounding screams for Hollywood horror films. Her work is her life and business is BOOMING, as always.
Next is Gates Foster who lost his daughter 17 years ago and hasn't stopped searching since. I mean glued to a computer screen, hypervigilent at all times, dark web kinda searching. Rinse, scrub, repeat.
Both of their lives run parallel until they don't, and that moment will make you want to close the book, stare into nothingness for a while, and start all over again. Ok, maybe that's just what I did. I digress.
At its core is a story about how the suffering of ordinary people is a hot commodity, unbeknownst to the masses that only see and believe what Hollywood wants them to. Palahniuk gets into some Deep State and even supernatural stuff, and everything about it is brutal. I'd say that comes with the territory at this point, but just in case.
The book is split into 3 sections and there aren't any chapters, so the character transitions are pretty blurry. Given the disorientating nature of the book, I'd say that was a brilliant choice. The writing is suspenseful and even through my still lingering fog after reading it *twice*, I'm impressed! There are lots of layers and bits that won't seem obvious until you turn the last page, then it all crashes down on you. It's the books that leave me stunned and wondering what the heck I just read that are my most memorable and this one has definitely left its mark. Now excuse me while I fall down a rabbit hole of Foley effects, popular movie scream origins, and conspiracy theories.
Many thanks to Grand Central Publishing for providing me with a free copy! All views are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Sexual violence
Moderate: Alcoholism and Drug abuse
Minor: Pedophilia
More...